Does your heritage influence your career path and success?
How are culture and heritage integrated?
According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, culture is defined as 'the habits, traditions, and beliefs of a country, society, or group of people'. Culture is then a living system of behaviours.
Heritage refers to the culture that is passed down from one generation to the next. Heritage is the inherited wealth from that system and a part of culture itself. Our heritage is what we have taken over from the past to value and enjoy in the present, and to preserve and pass on to future generations.
Your heritage is an integral part of your values, aspirations, and work ethics, coupled with cultural factors that could not only impact your self-determination but also impact your career choice and career progression.
How then does heritage impact your experience?
Family history can inspire your own career choice – to follow in their footsteps or to motivate you to forge a new, unknown path, because you want to differentiate yourself. Cultural stereotypes and beliefs that are suitable for certain groups can result in self-efficacy, namely, an individual’s belief in their ability to complete a task or achieve a goal.
It is a known fact that environmental and societal factors can influence career opportunities, as social structure can create barriers to provide advantages in job markets. Think of the oppression of women not to be educated in certain countries/societies.
Socio-economic factors may deny you social networks that could enhance your career progress, leading to slower career progression. The desire to achieve financial stability can also influence your career path, and you may pursue a certain career to earn more money, than pursue a career that you feel passionate about.
Our cultural norms, whether implicit or explicit, influence us in what we perceive to be a successful career. How we see ourselves is also influenced by the people in our close-knit circle. Culture and family can positively impact our careers or limit us in terms of stereotyping, i.e., institutional racism. Embracing your unique heritage can lead to you being a source of strength; this distinct perspective can contribute to increased creativity and originality.
Children internalise parents' attitudes towards work, and more than likely, they will either adopt similar behaviours or strive not to be like their parents and rebel against their norms. In some cultures, family culture and history can dictate levels of career success, living up to and demanding that children must join, for instance, the family business, even if it is not in their own interest.
In conclusion, we are either a product of our cultural norms, good or bad, or we embark on our own path through resilience. There is no doubt that the relationship between heritage and career is multifaceted and complex. In the end, it is you who is responsible for determining your own destiny and forging your own path, building new narratives and embracing your roots and your cultural background.